


Hearts fluttering with the night

by crayyyonn



Series: At the edge of the world [2]
Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 19:25:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16414457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayyyonn/pseuds/crayyyonn
Summary: They think Jinyoung doesn't know. Or alternatively, Jinyoung knows everything.





	Hearts fluttering with the night

They think he has no idea.

It’s preposterous. As their resident psychologist slash medical doctor, Jinyoung has access to the results of every single one of their regular psych evals and bloodwork. He can also definitely put two and two together when Jaebum starts doing an extra load of laundry every week and Jackson’s bunk looks untouched in the mornings. He had been mad at first, because it’s never a good thing when attachments form in their situation—living in such close quarters and in their context makes them extra tricky. Then he’d just been impressed that they’ve managed to keep it quiet all this time—though it hasn’t prevented anyone from realizing the change in their relationship. He’s seen the looks the younger ones trade each other.

He brings this up to Mark, currently doing a leisurely set on the treadmill at Jinyoung’s behest. It’s nearly midnight but they’re both unable to sleep, so what better way to kill time than to get a few tests in. They’ll both get to lie in in the morning. A win-win.

“It’s been what, nearly two months now? And it’s been going great so far, I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Mark says. He sounds a little out of breath already, even though it’s only been five minutes of strolling at just a hint of an incline. Jinyoung notes it in his chart.

“Yeah but when shit hits the fan—and you’ll never convince me it won’t—it’s going to splatter all over us.”

“They seem well-matched. I’ve known Jackson since we were in university, he’s actually a lot more mature than he seems.”

Making a note of Mark’s heart rate, Jinyoung increases the speed, ignoring the groan he gets in return, though he obediently breaks into a slow jog. “Jackson isn’t the one I’m worried about.”

He really isn’t. Jaebum is the loose cannon in their team, with his stubbornness and anger issues. Sure he’s got it under control now, and have for years even before Jinyoung met him at training three years back, but for all the composure he projects when under pressure, he’s the most emotional one among them. Which isn’t all bad except he keeps it bottled up inside more now than when they’re outside, because avoidance was step one in every conflict resolution class in the training syllabus. It’s not that Jinyoung doesn’t trust him; he does. In fact, Jaebum is the one he trusts the most out of everyone in the team, bar Mark, but Jinyoung is a worrier by nature, it’s what he does best.

Besides, for what it’s worth, Jinyoung _has_ seen the cracks, hairline though they may be now. It’s in the clench of his jaw when Yugyeom and Bambam clown around with each other, the hardening of his stare when something doesn’t go right. In the six months they’ve been at the research station, he’s picked up on it more and more, although he’s mellowed out slightly, around the time he and Jackson began their dalliance. Still, they’ve got another long six months to go. With a lean team like theirs, living in each other’s pockets 24/7, the tiniest bit of friction has the potential to be magnified into catastrophic proportions.

He can’t say any of this to Mark though, even with his rank of station leader. Jinyoung’s reports are strictly confidential and for their employer’s eyes only unless it’s an emergency, but he thinks Mark gets it. Not only is he highly intelligent, he’s observant, and Jinyoung has seen him steer Jaebum away from impending conflict before. It’s what Jinyoung admires most about him, his ability to quietly lead, with none of the pomp and circumstance that many like to attach to the role.

Of course, there are many other things he admires about Mark—he stops the train of thought right there.

The treadmill slows to a stop when the programmed duration is up. Carefully, Jinyoung unhooks Mark from the numerous wires, working around the way he has his hands on his knees as he catches his breath. The shortness of breath at any mildly strenuous exercise is something they’re having difficulty getting used to, especially when they’re all relatively active people when they’re not constrained by the edge of the world.

Grabbing the towel hanging from the handrail, he gently dabs at the sweat beading on Mark’s hairline. He ignores the way his heart skips a beat when it earns him a flash of a toothy grin.

“Thanks.”

Jinyoung hands it to him and busies himself with typing in his notes on his tablet. It’s not like he’ll forget if he leaves them for the next morning, but he needs a distraction from Mark changing into his sweater five feet away from him. He can’t wait for him to leave the gym so he can agonize over his unrequited, ill-advised crush in peace.

But the universe has, and never will be kind to him, Jinyoung realizes, because when he’s done, Mark plops onto the weight bench next to him anyway.

“Wanna watch a movie?”

Jinyoung deletes the typo he makes. “Huh?”

Mark grins at him. “You know, moving pictures with sound? Not a difficult concept,” he teases with a playful shoulder nudge. “We can’t sleep anyway, and I’ve been dying to watch the new Avengers movie.”

“That came out half a year ago.” Jinyoung hits save before powering off the tablet. “And didn’t Bambam say he wanted to organize a movie night for all of us to watch it together?”

“He’s already watched it in secret when we got the drive from the airdrop two days ago, the traitor,” Mark replies with a pout. Jinyoung has to forcibly tear his eyes away from it. “Come on.” He draws the last word out into a wheedle, and who is Jinyoung to resist?  

“Oh very well,” he tells him, employing the tone of beleaguered parent to annoying child. It doesn’t stop him from smiling back at Mark when the older grins at him and grabs his hand, pulling him towards the gym entrance. “But if Bambam makes us eat leftovers for the rest of the week I’m making you cook for me.”

“I’ll cook for you anytime you want, Jinyoung. Just say the word.”

Jinyoung tries not to read too much into that but as he feels the smile split his face wider, he knows he’s fighting a losing battle.

**Author's Note:**

> it has been /checks previous fic/ THREE YEARS since the first installment holy shit time flies??
> 
> ah i love this verse (if you're lost please read the first one and the series notes or google 'concordia station antarctica'). there's probably a bit of hand waving when it comes to the science, eg sleepless nights, shortness of breath with minimal physical exertion, vertigo, these are all normal especially when they first arrive but since they've been there for about half a year in the story, it's probably not a problem anymore. but medical and psych evals are important and done on a regular schedule, because constant light deprivation, the isolation, and extreme temperatures of the most remote corner of the globe can and will affect the human body and mind. 
> 
> ok getting off my soapbox now thank you for reading!


End file.
